When the Emmy nominations were announced a couple of weeks ago, there was an unfamiliar name amongst the list of nominees: Netflix. The streaming service has broken into the original programming arena in a big way, scoring nominations for the Kevin Spacey drama House of Cards and the return of Arrested Development.

But what’s ironic is that, as the service was taking bows for these nominations, they had just started offering a show that was better than both of them: Orange is the New Black.

A fictionalization of the memoir by Piper Kerman, the series is about a thirtysomething Brooklyn yuppie named Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) who is sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison for an incident that happened a decade earlier, when she was a mule for her drug-trafficking then-girlfriend Alex (Laura Prepon). Going from the world of artisanal soaps and farm-to-table restaurants to the federal pen is quite a leap, and much of the season is about how Piper adjusts, especially being away from her nerdily sweet fiance, Larry (Jason Biggs).

But if this were just a fish-out-of-water story, the buzz for this show wouldn’t be nearly as high as it is, with almost every major TV critic calling it one of the best shows of 2013. No, there are a number of other reasons why the show is so watchable, whether you power-watch all the episodes at once or consume them the old-fashioned way, one at a time:

1. The other prisoners are three-dimensional characters.One of the smartest things executive producer Jenji Kohan (Weeds) did was use the show’s hour-long format to explore the lives of the other prisoners, not only inside the prison but via flashbacks that give insight into what their backgrounds are and what might have put them there to begin with. For instance, rich junkie Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) has a difficult relationship with her mother, as does the seemingly sweet Daya (Dascha Polanco). The choices they made are in full view, and even the prisoners who don’t get flashbacks get fleshed out; by the time the season ends, for instance, you’ll know a heck of a lot more about the inmate named Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) than why she was given that nickname.

2. Piper’s story isn’t a “woe is me” tale.As the first season’s 13 episodes play out, you learn a lot more about Pipes than meets the eye, and start to see the real person underneath the Park Slope-polished exterior. We also get to see more sides of Alex than just the vixenish ex who took the “innocent” Piper and started her down the road to ruin. But the show is just as much about the rules of the prison’s society, and how these women form alliances, friendships and relationships under pretty extreme circumstances.

3. The men are pigs, but don’t get away with it.The guards and administrators at the prison are mostly inept and corrupt; the counselor, Healy (Michael Harney), for instance, seems to have an inordinate problem with the prisoners’ personal relationships, and the guard the prisoners call “Pornstache” (Pablo Schreiber) is into all kinds of shady business. Even the most straight-and-narrow guard there, Bennett (Matt McGorry) acts in a way that bites him on the butt later. But none of them get away with their abusiveness, mainly due to the fact that a) the prisoners are out to get them and b) they have no problem snitching on each other to advance their careers.

(Netflix)

4. Two words: Kate Mulgrew. I’ve saved the best part of the show for last. Mulgrew (most famous as the captain from Star Trek: Voyager) plays Red, a Russian immigrant who rules the prison’s kitchen with an iron fist, but also lends a kind-but-tough hand to the inmates who most need her help. Of all the supporting players on the show, we see Red the most, and we know the most about her background. It’s complicated material, having to go from cold to caring, from tough to scared, from funny to fearsome, sometimes changing from one scene to the next. And the veteran actress handles it all with ease, as my Antenna Free TV colleague Mike Moody pointed out last week. If she’s not an early contender for a 2014 Emmy nomination, then I’d be surprised.

All thirteen episodes of the first season are currently streaming on Netflix, and Kohan is already working on the second season, which will likely be released in 2014. If you’re looking to take the plunge into the world of streaming TV, Orange is the New Black is a pretty good place to start.